Dr. Tal Zaks, Moderna’s chief medical officer, on Wednesday said newly published data puts the company on a positive path to move toward a larger “Phase 3” coronavirus vaccine trial.
“We saw data that this vaccine can induce neutralizing antibodies in everybody who got vaccinated. This is, of course, reassuring to us and puts us on a positive path towards a large Phase 3 trial,” Dr. Zaks said on CNBC.
Moderna on Tuesday announced results from a Phase 1 trial that showed 45 healthy adults, ages 18-55, all saw antibodies after the first vaccination in a two-dose trial.
The second dose helped produce “robust” neutralizing antibodies, the company said.
The study was done in concert with the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Moderna is in the midst of a Phase 2 study with 600 participants — 300 healthy adults ages 18-55 and 300 adults ages 55 years and older.
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The company hopes to start a Phase 3 trial with roughly 30,000 participants later this month.
“The Phase 3 trial is geared towards testing this vaccine in those who need it the most,” Dr. Zaks said. “We’re going to have people who are both at high risk of infection as well as older adults, people with comorbid conditions who are more likely to get sick.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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